Forum Thread

This is a Pokemon/Harry Potter crossover in its first draft - some things may not yet be as smooth as they should be, but comments (especially constructive ones) are welcome.

Section One: Outcast's Refuge

The afternoon sun, splitting the clouds, spread languidly across the bespired surface of a strange, island-like vessel that had never before been warmed by its rays. It floated in place, like a slumbering leviathan, where before there had only been watery blue. Its dark, metallic form had yet to be dulled by wind and weather, despite the obscuring fog rising to wreath it as though bidden. If it seemed otherworldly, it had good cause, as it had been created beneath a very different sky. Constructed as a sanctuary from prying, judging eyes and ill-intentioned pursuers, its maker and ruler had bargained its transport sideways through time from one more experienced in such matters than he. A place that was truly his own, where he could be himself, and where he could carry out his work unimpeded by those who'd sought him out before. True, there were certain individuals he'd return to check on from time to time - not to mention the favours he now owed, but it was worth the fuss.

It was remarkably freeing to know that his problems were a world away, while he was perched atop the uppermost spire of his new sea station, savouring the salt scent of the breeze ruffling his worn brown cloak as he surveyed his new home. "Perhaps, this time, I can be at ease." He mused pensively in soft bass tones, a faint smile creeping across his usually forbidding features. Piercing rich purple eyes glowing abruptly blue, the tall figure vanished, leaving the skyline bare.

He reappeared inside a spacious and well-appointed laboratory, his powerful deep purple tail swaying as he padded through it on clawless pale lavender toes. He lifted off his wide-brimmed brown hat, revealing rigid horn-like ears, and placed it on a hook - followed swiftly by his cloak. He didn't want any stray fabric to get in the way while he was working to assure the future of his kind. He had been alone from the moment he first opened his eyes, a unique specimen, a freak of science, an aberration. However, he was determined to erase his isolation, and he had worked tirelessly on his skills in genetic manipulation in order to make it possible.

He had gathered data and samples from many Pokemon - including himself, Ditto and the few Mew he'd met. He'd done the same in the cases of humans he felt had made a positive impact on his life, or whom he felt were worthy of respect. Fossils were another valuable resource - Mew remains were difficult to find, but not impossible. With these resources, the innovative feline had devised a selection of ways by which he could found and multiply his people.

Firstly, he could use Mew samples (live or fossil) to repeat the process that had given him life. He could combine Mewtwo DNA with other DNA (Pokemon or otherwise) - whether the 'two genes were drawn from himself, from the first process, or translated from some other lifeform. This translation, a result of his study of Ditto and their transformative abilities, allowed non-Mewtwo DNA to be converted to equivalent Mewtwo DNA based on its original form by means of a virus modified from Pokerus. Strains of this new virus, Pokerus Transmutare, could either translate a sample - or live volunteer - directly, or translate them with the addition of DNA from another donor for additional heritage. If his homeworld's humans had access to this, it would likely herald a revolution in Pokemon Breeding, but he doubted that they would use it wisely.

The results of his labours were floating in growth tanks throughout the lab, many of them very small or too minuscule to make out by eye. However, he had realised that growing his entire founding brood from the very beginning would leave him and his few assistants out of their depth with babies, and the infants with few older people to relate to and take time for them. Mewtwo was determined to ensure a communal lifestyle and lack of loneliness for his fledgeling race, and if that meant turning people into his own kind, then that was what would occur. They'd have to be volunteers, though. Even if he'd been willing to subject unconsenting individuals to the transformation, it would be very stupid of him to provide people he'd given such a legitimate grievance access to both his own location and the tremendous power that came with being a Mewtwo.

Through DNA analysis, he had determined that juveniles would be the safest to convert, so he had sought out the discarded and lost younglings who had nowhere else to turn - those who reminded him of himself - by homing in on their loneliness. He made each an offer - it didn't matter to him what they started out as. If they accepted his offer, he would treat them as kin. If not, he would leave them a belly fuller and a memory lighter - it was only paranoia if he wasn't rare and valuable.

He strode softly through the rows, checking readouts and adjusting nutrient flows. He quite liked watching them change and grow - it was peaceful and fulfilling. His favourite part was when a newtwo's mind first reached out telepathically - he imagined that it felt similar to a 'first word' or 'first steps' moment. As he reached the end of his checks, he found his eyes drawn to the last tube - empty, waiting. That wasn't much use to him. Gathering his garb onto himself with a wave of his paw, he teleported back to the highspire and launched himself into the air.

He flew swiftly towards a landmass, arbitrarily chosen, which he would come to know as England. Slowing, he faded out of visibility as Mew had taught him. He descended in lazy spirals, mind reaching out to find the first signs of a miserable childmind. Upon detecting such a one, he followed it closely, allowing it to reel him in like a fish.

---

Section Two: Unfamiliar Epithets

The searching psionic was astounded to discover that the source of the misery he had sensed was within a bland patch of suburbia, but it was there - accented by the mix of contempt and indolence he felt emanating from nearby. Blocking out all but the child he sought, he stalked onwards past houses that were alike in form and dullness. He came to a halt in an excessively neat garden, only feet away from his quarry. The floral scents of the blooms mingled with the sharp smell of grass and the sour aroma of the child, while Mewtwo observed. The scrawny, ill-clad youngling had a mess of shaggy black hair - reminding the Legend of another human he knew - and an unhealthy pallor. When the boy, for it was indeed a tiny male of the species, straightened up to deal with the weeds he had plucked, his garb shifted enough that it was clearly evident that he was sorely underfed. Mewtwo had seen enough.

"Little One, Little One." He called softly, causing the child's head to snap up warily. "Who's there?" The boy replied cautiously, guarded emerald eyes scanning for any sign of the owner of that mysterious bass voice. After all, who would be speaking to him? "I am an outcast like yourself," Came the murmured answer. "I have come to ask you whether you will come away with me." The Legendary cat added, fading slowly into view as he saw and felt the confused hope and fear flickering before him.

"You're a freak too!" The youngling breathed, taken aback - he had thought it a trick of some kind, but there was no denying that the figure before him was a freak. He'd long hoped that another freak would come for him - just a dim, desperate yearning - and now one really had. Mewtwo's eyes widened at the automatic use of such a derogatory term, and he was about to respond - when another young voice piped up from the other side of the nearest neighbouring fence. "That's stupid - he's gotta be Unseleighe."

The heads of both monster and boy whirled around to regard the face poking over the fence, the former berating himself for focusing so singularly on only one mind. "They're the Dark Court of Fae - the strange-looking ones people tend to think're evil. Er, no offence..." The pre-teen continued, realising that she may have inadvertently provoked the strange creature. Curious, Mewtwo waved a paw in a little spiral, indicating that she should go on. Emboldened, the girl continued. "I think people don't like them because they're different, I don't think they're evil." She clarified, hoping to smooth things over, before returning to the meat of the topic.

"They're the second Fae Court, descended from changed members of the Seleighe - They're the Bright Court - the beautiful ones. I bet this is Grimalkin - He looks enough like a cat, and important too. Since he's come f'you, you're probably a changeling - or gonna be. That means you're a Fae that was left here as a baby, or he's gonna turn you into one." Flabbergasted by this outpouring, the little boy turned his wide-eyed gaze up to Mewtwo, lambent with longing. "Is - is that true?" He asked hesitantly, incredulous. "The bones of it, certainly." Mewtwo replied, nearly as startled as the boy. "I and my kind are indeed the altered cousins of an airier and brighter kin, I have been thought evil by some, I am a cat of some importance, and I would indeed like to spirit you away and change you into one of my kind. You are obviously not happy here, after all. What I would like to know now is where all that information came from, young lady." He confirmed, narrowing his eyes at the girl as he finished.

While the nervously thrilled boy strove to process all the information he'd just soaked up, the girl fidgeted anxiously behind the fence, pierced by the feline's intense gaze. "Well, I've always been interested in folklore, so I read a lot about it. The Fae are just my favourites, that's all." She responded, relieved when this seemed to be sufficient. "You... you really want me?" The ragged child asked, plaintively searching Mewtwo's features for any hint of a lie. At the Psychic type's solemn nod, he visibly brightened, before pausing uncertainly. "W-would I have a family - one that loves me?" He asked, reflecting on the many times he wished his aunt and uncle would care for him. He mightn't have said this usually, but it felt safer talking about such things to another freak, who would likely understand. Surely, if he went to live with other freaks, they might love him?

Upon receiving a second nod, he beamed as he had not for some time. "If I can have family, I'll do whatever jobs you need me to." He promised in quiet, firm tones, grasping the edge of Mewtwo's cloak. "Then so be it." Came the warm reply, accompanied by what the feline hoped was an encouraging smile, as the superclone lifted the spindly youngling into his arms with an eerie blue light. Eyes flashing blue, he relieved the girl of her recollection of him as he launched himself into the sky - shimmering himself and his new associate out of sight as he did so.

His youthful cargo, secure in his strong grasp, gaped in wonder as they soared between land and twillit clouds that the sinking sun painted in resplendent hues of pink, orange and purple. The shifting, glittering sea also drew the boy's wondering eye, and he delighted through the whole flight. His enjoyment became awe as he beheld the bespired form of his new home when they flew through the chilly fogbanks, and he marvelled at its dark towers as he breathed in the saline sea air. He was just staring at the greenery adorning the ground, which seemed somehow exotic, when they landed delicately onto the tip of the highspire and faded back into visibility. The boy barely had a moment to wonder at the balance that had to require, not daring to draw breath lest he cause a tremble, before there was an odd flickering that saw the pair of them abruptly inside a small off-white chamber.

Mewtwo laid his live cargo down atop a big and puffy, if smooth, cushion - instructing the child to remain in place while he retrieved diagnostic tools from creamy grey filing cabinets arrayed nearby. Quiescent, the boy lay still as he was scanned, offering up no words when a jagged scar was found beneath his hair, nor when said hair was sampled. Curiously, it took a few tries to get any readings - due to some sort of interference.

---

Section Three: The Naming of Cubs

"Now, Little One, what is your name?" The tall cat-king enquired as he busied himself with the writing of a new record. "Freak, sir." The waif answered timidly, causing his host to halt briefly and look directly into the solemn green eyes of his newest subject. "That is not a name, cub, it is an insult. Have you no other?" Mewtwo asked seriously, taken aback. When the child shook his head, the feline sighed. "Then I suppose you will have to be simply Cub 42 until I can think of something better, as I refuse to leave you nameless - or with such a disgraceful appellation. No cub of mine will bear an insult for a name!" He stated, eyes flashing, in a tone that brooked no argument.

Then, softening his speech, lest he cause disquiet, he continued. "Do not be concerned by the number - my own name, which is Mewtwo, bears one. Although, I must say that Grimalkin does have quite a ring to it." He mused, getting a little distracted. "I think, for a taken name, I will choose Grimalkin Unseleighe - that young lady's words made it sound rather... fitting." He trailed off, realising his distraction, when he felt an uptick of hope and longing wafting from Cub 42. "Am I really your cub now?" The child asked, eagerness warring with caution and a brittle kind of desperation.

"Indeed." The newly self-named Grimalkin confirmed, blinking. "Any child grown or given sanctuary here on Stormhaven is one of my cubs - in a general sense. Why, would you like to become my cub in a more specific sense? That can be arranged." No sooner had he made the offer, then he felt his tail grasped in a tight hug. Unused to this sort of affection, but not wanting to alienate the child, he patted the boy awkwardly on the head as he finished up his report.

Then, paperwork completed, he withdrew a number of rectangular medicine containers from the nearest cabinet, along with a small tray. Inside each tin were several small objects the size of dice, each tin containing a different type. The tray was carefully piled with an assortment of coloured cubes and squashed spheroids - some chewy, some as flaky as soft cheese. "I need you to eat these, for the good of your health. The transformative process is energy expensive. You will not throw them up, I give you my word." Grimalkin urged, prompting the cub-to-be into tasting a few. To the boy's surprise, they weren't awful - though they weren't great either - and he managed to consume them all.

Basking in his new guardian's quiet approval, Cub 42 followed the Legend out through the metallic corridor - still holding onto that tail - and into a long room full of technology and transparent cylinders full of coloured fluid and... well, some of them looked as though there was someone small sleeping inside. He was led to a cylindrical metal cubicle and asked to step inside, while his new daddy took his place at an impressive computer terminal with lots of buttons and blinking lights.

Cub 42 was a little scared, but he wanted so much to be somebody's kid, with a daddy of his own - just like Dudley'd always had. Taking a deep breath, he obeyed and stepped forward - though he flinched when the door slid closed behind him. A flat, synthetic voice instructed him to place his clothes in the slots provided. Shamefaced as he recalled the state of his garments, he removed them and put them where required. This made sense, he supposed - he wouldn't want to be tangled in rags while he changed shape. The idea of such a thing still made him anxious, despite his agreement. What would it be like?

The emergence of a stream of heated water and soapy sponge-tipped robotic arms derailed his train of thought, and he giggled as the scrubbing tickled him - he couldn't recall ever receiving such a pleasant wash. One mechanically-assisted towelling later, and a curious thing was brought in by the robotic arms and fastened to his face - across his nose and mouth. There was flex and space to it, and breathable air.

Then, he was lifted by the metal arms through a dark tube at the cubicle ceiling. His heart hammered like a rabbit's, until he was deposited gently into one of the tubes he'd seen before - whose clear watery fluid was becoming purple and slightly thicker as something was added to it from some unseen inlet. The tank was sealed now, and wire-like tendrils were attaching themselves to him as they moved him into a fully upright position. Each point of contact itched at first, but that ebbed away as his panic diminished. He was still uneasy - everything was happening so quickly - but he hadn't been hurt, and he'd been promised enough that he'd deal with this weirdness regardless of his nerves.

Placing a hand tentatively against the glass, he watched as Grimalkin approached with a slight smile, placing a paw of his own against the smooth surface of the tank where the young one's hand was. "Everything goes well thus far, cub." The otherworlder assured him, and he realised for the first time that this was achieved without movement of the mouth - most curious. "Your body's needs will be attended to without need for any action on your part, and you will soon fall into a deep sleep while the most major changes take place. The nearer to its completion your metamorphosis grows, the more awareness you will regain - until you are ready to be born anew."

Would he dream, the cub wondered muzzily, already weary. He received a nod to answer his unspoken question, and another surprise. "When you are born anew, it will be to a new name, as I have succeeded in devising one: Pardus, for the pantherlike nature we will share; Cenue, a reminder that you are a cub of mine; and Unseleighe, to match the strangeness of our kind - and the surname I took for myself." The words trickled into the mind of the newly named Pardus, but he could barely think of them as his eyes drifted closed. He felt sluggish and very drowzy, curling subconsciously into a ball as he drifted deeper into the realms of slumber.

---

Section Four: Unquiet Chrysalis

The first Mewtwo smiled as he regarded the newest, watching the cub's still-human features become lax with sleep. He deplored the state of things which had led a child to accept his offer so easily, but he was glad of the new addition to his family. As he did with the others, he checked in on Cub 42: Pardus often, watching as he slowly changed. First, streaks of blond threaded his hair - which was somewhat unexpected. Then, the skin of his hands and feet paled - another surprise. Following this, the expected coat of fur grew in gradually.

It was mostly a glossy black, save for the deep green extending from navel to tailbone, and one other hue. Where Pardus' skin had paled, his pelt gradiated to a royal purple alike to Grimalkin's own tail and eyes - matched by the once-blond streaks in the boy's idly floating hair. A testament to the addition of his genes, Grimalkin supposed. Interesting how that translated in the initial stages. He was becoming quite fond of the tomkit, and he was somewhat proud of the way he was turning out - it looked as though he would become a fine Mewtwo.

Unfortunately, it was far from plain sailing. When the cub's bodyshape began to shift, surges of that strange interference began to lash out - disrupting equipment and vitals alike each time a major change reached a point of certainty. Maintaining his new son's life drove Grimalkin quite frantic at times, to the extent of having his few helpers take charge of everything else when things got bad. Somehow, the situation seemed to strike a deep chord within the older experiment, and he felt driven by some unnamed desperation within himself to preserve the small life inside that tank.

The worst of it occurred at the stage typing was supposed to appear - the point at which approximately 65-75% of the cub had become Mewtwo. The dim, peaceful dreams he'd enjoyed were pierced by a strange and frantic malevolence that set the poor kit to distressed twitching, and the old scar on his forehead had split open. Worse, the interference surged all the more - hindering efforts to help - as though it had broken through some kind of binding.

While this was going on, Grimalkin set his assistants to manning the terminals, while he reached out with his mind to link with Pardus. The cub's mindscape was still dark - as it should have been - but the Pardus mind-avatar was cowering away from a roiling mass of slimy black, caustic red, and acidic green that seemed to be made of smoke and sparks. The source of both the malice and the malaise - a mind-parasite of some sort. With a mental roar of outrage, the tempestuous feline buffeted the intruder with a wave of psychic power, urging Pardus to try the same. At first, the cub couldn't muster a thing, then only a ripple, but that changed after his protector linked more closely with him and showed him how. In the face of concerted attack from within and without - in addition to the alteration of its host - the parasite dissipated with a curdling screech.

After that bombshell, the cub's mindscape seemed warmer and somewhat less disrupted, and the surges of interference ceased. With a sigh of profound relief, the elder Mewtwo gathered up his cub's projection and held him close. "I thought that I would lose you." He admitted ruefully, struck by the similarities between this event and something that lurked just beyond his grasp in his oldest, mostly buried, memories. He was determined to ensure that he didn't have to experience the wrenching pain and nausea of feeling a young mind fade from life - though he wasn't quite sure why he was so dreadfully certain about how it would feel - but he had still come this close to... Best not to dwell on it, lest he worry the cub.

"What was that?!" Pardus exclaimed, much relieved and gratified by the rescue, but still very shaken. "I don't know." His remaker replied, doing his best to broadcast calm and reassurance in spite of his own adrenalin spike. "However, it is gone now - banished by my power and by your own. Rest easy, and be proud - you are not yet complete, but you are already a fine Mewtwo." With these words, Grimalkin withdrew from the mindscape and opened his eyes, needing a break from close contact in order to regain his emotional equilibrium - it simply wouldn't do to let his composure slip too far while he was connected to a childmind he had just been trying to reassure.

The lab was peaceful once more, and he could now take the time to breathe deeply and properly gauge the cub's development - despite the slight distraction of his Pikatwo second-in-command's stress induced cussing and kicking at what the ill-tempered rodent fondly imagined to be his creator's shins (actually a part of his foot). He was pleased to see that the concerning headwound seemed fully healed - likely thanks to the action of the healing and transformative agents in the incubation fluid following the injury's reopening. The child's ears had reached full horn-like status, and his hands were - though daintier than the cat-king's own - fully 'two.

Much the same could be said for his face, but his second neck was only beginning to separate, and his tail was not proportionally long yet. His legs, slender for his new kind, were almost fully transitioned to digitigrade status, but his toes were as yet unmerged. He had yet to develop chest-plates, but there was still time. Pleased by the rate of progress, the founder set a scan for type. None of his little ones had yet missed out on Psychic type, but there had been a few intriguing additions. Including, it seemed, this case.

Apparently, his new cub could claim Fairy, of all things, as his secondary type. Where that had come from was unclear, but it was hardly a bad thing. Rubbing his temples as he sat down to take a rest, the tired Legend wondered idly how Pardus would react to the other minds he would now be able to touch. After all, if the cub could help uproot a mind-parasite when his Psychic typing was only just setting, he would certainly be able to communicate with his older batchmates.

---

Section Five: A Meeting of Minds

After being left to his thoughts, Pardus spent a while contemplating his near miss. It was frightening to think that he could have been killed by something he hadn't even known was there, but his new daddy had come to protect him. He couldn't remember anyone thinking he was worth protecting before - it was a good feeling, and one that made him all the more determined to be useful. Come to think of it, hadn't he just been told that he had power? He'd even used it a bit, though clumsily. He'd long seen odd things happening around him - usually causing him to get in trouble - but this felt different.

Perhaps, if he practised with this new power, he could impress Grimalkin? He'd been told to be proud of what he'd already achieved, but the little changeling was afraid that it might have been a fluke. Now that he had felt what it was like to be praised, he yearned to be worthy of more. With this in mind, he set about feeling for the power he'd touched before, plunging his focus into it as he sought to understand it. He spent a while doing this, gradually becoming accustomed to it, before he was unexpectedly interrupted by a change of scene he'd somehow triggered.

Rather than the familiar, comforting darkness that reminded him of his cupboard sanctum, he found himself in a wildflower meadow - something he'd never seen before. He could have stared at the colourful blooms for hours, if an unanticipated voice hadn't made him flinch and whirl around. "Howdy, new kit, this your first time in someone else's dreaming?" The voice, which seemed friendly enough, was coming from a cream Mewtwo around his own height - though fuller in face and flesh.

The stranger had short fur and thick haunches, and solid black earhorns that seemed thicker at the base. His belly was pale brown, deepening to a warm fudge colour as his tail neared its curled-in tip - a hue shared by his toes and his rounded eyes. His face bore long, thick whiskers - two on each cheek and two either side of an odd golden ovoid on his forehead. "No need to worry, I'll help you out. I'm Usco, by the way." The pale cub continued, revealing pointed teeth as he spoke.

"I'm Pardus... Er, Cub 42 as well." The changeling replied, deciding to let Usco explain things. "42, huh? I got number 39. Don't sweat the numbers, they're mostly so the big guy can keep his records in order. Now, I bet you wanna know how come this place ain't all dark, an' how you got here, right?" Pardus nodded, wondering how the pale-coated newtwo knew what was on his mind. "Well, we all get funky mind powers, right? Basically, when those start working, we get t'make stuff appear in our dreaming place - an' visit other ones too. Usually it's an accident the first time 'round. Wanna see? Try thinkin' real hard 'bout a flower, go on."

In the face of this urging, Pardus concentrated on Aunt Petunia's roses. To his delight, they appeared. "Pretty good first go." Usco approved, grinning. "We won't be able t'do this outta dreaming, but it's great for learning t'focus th'new mind skills. It's also good for show'n'tell - I know a baby 'two whose mind woke up early, an' she loves it when me an' Amadia show her outside stuff." Curious, Pardus asked who the people he'd mentioned were. "Hm? Well, Amadia's a translated 'two like you an' me. She started out as a Raichu. Know what they look like? No? Well, here's what she looks like now."

An illusory Mewtwo appeared, taller and more thickset than Usco, while retaining a childish cast to her features. She was clearly female, though Pardus couldn't say for certain how he could tell. Perhaps part of it lay in the softer-than-typical set of her chest-plates? Most of her upper body fur was orange, including her short and curly forelock, while her paws were a dark wood-brown. Her ears were the same brown, with yellow insides, being earhorn rigid while Raichu-typical in shape and proportion. Two horizontal brown stripes rested just above the base of her tail, which started thick and black as her eyes, before becoming slim and whippy - tipped with a yellow lightning bolt in place of a ball. Her belly and chest, where not tail-black, were white, and she had circular yellow patches on her cheeks.

"She's pretty tough - she was a battler before she was abandoned for somemon faster." Usco added, confusing Pardus a bit. "Me, I was a street kitty, a stray Meowth eatin' scraps in the city. There were too many of us in the troop t'feed us all, an' I was the clumsiest. Now, lil' Paka's a dif'rent kettle o'fish - a Lil' Sis grown from scratch. Here, take a look." The image shrank to the size of a baby - a pastel pink kit with dainty paws and second neck, her chest-plates vestigial and her tail (though clearly 'two) slender. This tail, like her wide almond eyes, was sky blue - and the colour reached further up her belly than his or Usco's. Her earhorns were stout-based, slightly forward-curling cones set like cat ears, giving her a rather impish air and kittenish seeming.

"You'll get t'meet them soon enough." Usco promised, dismissing the image. "They're my buddies. For now, though, best t'keep practisin'. Any questions?" After mulling over what he'd been told, and guessing from context that a translated 'two was a changeling, Pardus nodded again. "Um, what did you mean earlier, about battlers?" He asked softly, to Usco's obvious surprise. "You don't know 'bout battlin'? Wow, Pard, where'd y'live thatcha hadn't heard of it?" The bewhiskered former Meowth queried, startled.

Pardus hung his head, ashamed, wondering desperately what to tell his new friend. As he thought furiously, though, his cramped little cupboard swum into view - to his horror. "Ah, bit if a shut-in... Sorry kit." Usco responded carefully, noting the shamed and fearful posture with some concern. He wouldn't have minded kipping in a cupboard, but for it to appear in answer - and cause such a reaction - the kit had to have been shut in there a lot, and maybe not allowed to talk about it. He'd heard that some of the newtwo were rescue cases, and the way this tomkit flinched when Usco put a paw on his shoulder and dispelled the illusion spoke volumes.

"Relax, buddy, most all of us translates've had more than our share of hard luck - it's why we're picked, I think. Heck, even the big guy got treated harsh - real harsh. No shame in it with us." Pardus lifted his head to regard the other tom, cautiously brightening. "... Really?" He hadn't realised that others might have been treated like he was - it was hard to imagine someone like Usco or his protector and kind new daddy deserving harshness. Then again, maybe everyone normal treated freaks bad. He knew he wasn't Freak anymore, but he'd hardly got less freaky... Maybe it was okay to be a freak if everyone else was? Maybe, if there were enough, it'd count as a new kind of normal? He liked that idea. He'd always wanted to be normal. "You bet, kit, so don't sweat it." Usco nodded, before realising belatedly that he had yet to explain battles.

---

Introduce ditto, he is the failed version of mewtwo after all

af

---

(Ditto has already been mentioned - it's possible that one might be involved more at some point, but not immediately.)

Section Six: Answers and Purpose

"Okay, first I'm gonna assume you wouldn't know a Pokemon if one danced a jig in fronta you - no worries. A Pokemon is a creature with neat powers - like you an' me - only most can't speak like humans do. Got our own languages - might as well be gibberish t'most humans, but any Pokemon can understand 'em easily. Battlin' is when Pokemon use their powers t'fight, rather'n just scrappin'. Lotsa humanfolk like catchin' Pokemon t'raise as battle teams. Some are decent folks an' friends t'their team, others're awful. Amadia's Trainer - that's the human raisin' her team - dumped her by the roadside without s'much as a 'so long', 'cause he thought she was too slow, an' wanted somemon faster. Anything else, kit?"

After this piece of exposition, Pardus thought for a moment, digesting what he'd just been told. So, they were creatures that sounded like they were right out of Dudley's videogames - why wouldn't there be people who'd get them to fight? It wasn't as though he could call much 'too strange' any more. "Well... Do we have a, well, a purpose?" He asked cautiously, tilting his head a little. "The science creatures from Dudley's movies almost always have one."

Truth to tell, he was both hopeful and anxious about this prospect. On the one hand, he'd never really had a sense of purpose before, and he desperately wanted to prove himself worthy of their founder's love and protection. On the other hand, what if his purpose was helping to take over the world like the movie monsters? His aunt and uncle had always called him an evil brat, but he didn't think he was quite up to facing down heroes just yet, and he didn't want to let anyone down. He'd try, because he had little enough reason to favour the world over Grimalkin, but he thought he'd probably mess it up.

"Sure we do," Usco replied amiably, draping an arm across the other cub's shoulders and steadfastly ignoring his slight flinch. "We're the future of our kind, Pard. The big guy is counting on us t'look after an' protect ourselves an' the liddle ones who come after us - an' t'be his family. Like most've us, he didn't have one before - he's the very first. 'Til us, the only one of his kind. So here's the deal - we gotta be good big brothers an' sisters for th'kittens, we gotta make sure we don't let anyone get too sad an' lonely, an' we gotta grow up t'be our own selves an' nobody else's. The big guy's real emphatic 'bout us 'twosies bein' a law unto ourselves."

Wide-eyed, Pardus stared blankly for a moment, before giving Usco his widest grin: he had a purpose that didn't seem impossible, and it sounded perfect! He'd thought he'd be fulfilling his purpose in exchange for a family, but now he knew that his purpose was to be a part of a family! "Took me that way too, kid." A new voice cut in, alto and honey-thick in tone. Whirling around, Pardus saw that it was Amadia, with Paka wrapped in her tail. "What's your name, kid? Bet Usco's told you ours."

Nodding, Pardus introduced himself, watching warily as the once-Raichu extended her kit-carrying tail towards him. "Here, consider lesson one begun." She stated, depositing the cooing babymind matter-of-factly into Pardus' arms. It was then, as he watched her adjust his arms to better cradle Paka, that he thought of another question. "How come we can see what we all look like? We're sleeping, aren't we?" He asked, perplexed. He'd been vaguely aware of his own changes for a while now, but how? And how could he know what the others looked like? "Simple." Amadia stated, "Your body's been letting your subconscious know as you've changed, and that gets projected in here - we're all telling each other how we look and sound automatically. How exactly that works, I couldn't say, but you get the idea."

Pardus didn't think it was quite as simple as Amadia claimed, but he guessed that it'd be safer to just nod along at this point. It seemed to satisfy her, anyway. The kitten in his arms wriggled, her tail getting in his face, and he thought he was about to drop her - when he found himself floating with the giggling Paka. Of course - Mewtwo could fly, and the dreaming would certainly allow it. Focusing, Pardus gained control of their flight path, not willing to leave it in the paws of a baby who could lose focus at any moment.

It seemed as though he'd passed some kind of test, for the moment he took control was the same moment he was joined by the other two. "Not too shabby, kit." Usco grinned, coming up alongside him. "Howsabout a liddle trip down my memory skyway? Lemme show you the route the big guy flew me." The cheery whiskered cub suggested, causing his dreamscape to morph beneath them. "From what I've seen, he likes t'take the scenic route with all of us." Pardus, treated to his first glimpse of the Pokemon world from above, had to agree. It'd been fun - he supposed rollercoasters might be almost as good, but he'd never tried one.

There was so much countryside, he couldn't help but be amazed - it was a huge and spectacular view. At first, he simply marvelled at it all and played, revelling in the freedom of the sky. After a while, though he began to ask questions about the things and places he was seeing. Fascinated, he allowed his new friends to regale him with tales of their world and what lay within it. Usco showed him urban life, letting him in on some of the tricks he'd used to stay alive, while Amadia shared details of battles and training - explaining moves, abilities, strategies and items as best she could. She even demonstrated by showing some of her memories.

Eventually, Pardus felt comfortable with telling them about his own life with the Dursleys, and how he'd learnt to work hard on little food. To his relief, they were on his side, and didn't seem to think any less of him for what he'd told them. As Amadia had put it: "You're one of us now - it doesn't matter where you come from, or what was wrong with your life - unless, of course, you'd like to get even. Then, we'd help." Over time, he met more awoken cubs, and made more friends than he'd ever thought of having, but Usco, Amadia and Paka were still the closest to him. He even learnt to communicate with the babymind through images and emotions. As unfamiliar as the concept was to the post-human child, life was wonderful.

---

Section Seven: The Miracle of Rebirth

It was some time later, although Pardus had no way of guessing how much later, that sounds began to drift into the dreaming - which seemed to be getting a little fuzzy. Then, after he slept undreaming next, he felt his eyes drifting open. The lab appeared, swimming in purple. He could see his daddy, who had visited often in the dreaming, approaching his tank. After a moment's bleary confusion, he realised that it must be time, and grew quite excited.

The techno tendrils that had been fixed to him were detaching, pushing him towards the base of the tank as they did so. He closed his eyes as he felt himself pushed slowly, but firmly, into a rubbery membrane. He squirmed when he felt air chill his wet pelt, and when he felt towelled arms lifting him out of the clingy membrane. He settled, though, when he opened his eyes again to see his daddy gently removing the tank breather-mask with his telekinetic power as he gently dried the young one in his arms.

"Happy Birthday, Pardus." Grimalkin rumbled pleasantly, smoothing the newtwo's unruly locks of hair out of his eyes with a delicate application of telekinesis as he finished drying the tank serum from his son's pelt. The towel had been treated so as to remove any lingering trace of incubation fluid, so the tomkit was quite clean. Birthday? Pardus marvelled happily, never having had a proper birthday before. It did make sense, though, seeing as he had a daddy now, and had effectively just been born.

"There's a party waiting, with cake and gifts. It won't be very energetic, as none of you cubs are quite used to using your real-world bodies yet, but I assure you that you will be able to eat your fill. Both your general state of nourishment and your digestive system have been improved." At these words, Pardus beamed toothily, an action that showed off his new fangs - modest, but sharp and not to be trifled with. "That sounds great, Daddy~" He responded excitedly, feeling a warm little thrill inside his chest at being able to say that - and not knowing that his words provoked a similar, unexpectedly mushy feeling within his remaker.

He knew he was the last of the older cubs, which meant that everybody but Paka could be there. His previous self, being both friendless and oppressedly timorous, would have shied away from the idea of being around so many - and almost unable to contemplate the notion that they could possibly want to celebrate his birthday. Not so his changeling self. While it would take a while longer for his new self-worth to take root, Pardus'd spent enough time in the dreaming to develop bonds with his fellows and begin to learn how it was to be happy.

Grimalkin carried him into a baby-blue dining hall full of cubs sat upon seats designed with the Mewtwo frame in mind, and placed him tenderly into one of these chairs. A Pikachu and a Meowth walked in, pushing a trolley with a sponge cake on it, and everyone began to sing the Happy Birthday song. It was by no means a harmonious affair, but for a child overused to hearing it sung for others alone? It was beautiful.

The cake was placed onto the table by a helpful once-Abra, who made space for it among the other foods - both familiar and not. "Happy Birthday, buddy~" Usco grinned from beside him, while nearby Amadia chewed on something he hadn't seen her pick up. "Thank you..." Pardus murmured, looking bashful even as his heart seemed to swell within him. "Er, isn't there usually a candle?" He whispered, at once curious and not wishing to seem ungrateful.

A post-Ponyta snorted in amusement at this. "I'll tell you why, lil' colt - it's 'cause not a one of our new herd thought t'get any!" She snickered, sending a slight ripple of laughter down the table. Grimalkin gave them an amused look of slightly rueful admission. "As I told you yesterday, Aditi, I am not very well acquainted with birthday ritual just yet, and it simply didn't occur to N. If you wish, there will be candles next year." Most of what had just been said made sense to Pardus, as he slowly began to place food on his plate, but one part of it just didn't.

"What's a letter of the alphabet got to do with anything?" He asked in an undertone, perplexion writ plainly in the set of his features. "A friend of the big guy - one of the few he's got outside of us. He's gonna be one of our teachers." The former street feline replied casually. As if in answer, a tall and apron-clad human with wild pony-tailed green hair strolled in with a smile on his slightly syrup-daubed face, and more desserts on a tray in his hands. Pardus giggled, imagining the colours his aunt and uncle would turn if they beheld this fellow's hair - even without the flour in it. The human, N, cut and distributed slices of cake, before sitting and eating with the Pokemon.

After becoming replete with marvellous food, they played with board games and jigsaws, before moving on to presents. The cubs mostly gave pictures or clay shapes they'd made, not yet having much to give, but it was enough to cause the grateful (and somewhat overwhelmed) Pardus to well up and tearfully thank each of them. He had much the same reaction When Grimalkin and N gave him a Dragonite plush toy and a storybook with pictures respectively, but no-one was judging. They understood.

Present time was followed by a sing-along, which was meant to help the cubs learn to be skilful with their newly-instinctive telepathic voices. Then, as it had been an evening party, it was time for bed. With Usco and his daddy each holding his paws, and his long sturdy tail behind and ready to steady him if he wobbled, Pardus walked carefully with the others to a large hall-like room with green fluffy carpet and a blue-painted sky on the ceiling and walls. It was complete with wispy clouds, the sun, trees and bushes depicted.

Along the walls were cubbies - round spaces containing green and brown boxes for possessions, glowing stone-like nightlights with cover-cups, and green or brown soft bedding. It was into one of these that Pardus was led, stopping first at the bushes-shaped and painted fence while Usco dealt with the handle - which resembled a Pecha Berry. The fence only came up to chin-height on the cubs, so each cubby had some measure of privacy without being isolated. Grimalkin took the time to tuck each of the cubs into their squishy, pillowy bedding and blankets - currently two to a cubby - before reading them all a story from Pardus' new book.

Once the tale of Lugia's Song was over, the large feline turned out the light in the painted sun, murmuring a soft "Goodnight." that echoed back to him from the many young minds as he padded out. In the dark, pinprick constellations appeared, save for where plants were painted. The wisps of clouds now glowed dimly, and a full moon, which had been concealed within one such cloud, shone softly.

"Lovely, isn't it?" Usco whispered from his bed. "It is..." Pardus marvelled, just as quietly, his newly-sharp eyes wide with wonder. "I never thought I'd get to live anywhere as nice as this." He commented, gazing up at the 'sky' in delight. "Yeah, me neither." Came the yawned reply, as Usco began to lose the battle to stay awake. "I wonder when we'll learn to fly, like in the dreaming? It's got to be similar, right?" The green-eyed cub wondered, clutching his plush toy.

"Dunno when, an' probably. Not t'morrow - we got buncha games for gettin' used t'being like this then." The former stray murmured, closing his eyes. "Let's get some rest, yeah? I'm halfway asleep already." Deciding that his buddy was right, Pardus wished him goodnight and relaxed. He lay there, in the best cat bed he'd ever seen, and wondered what Mrs Figg the cat lady would think if she could see him now. Unable to decide, he simply stared at the 'stars', trying to invent new constellations. He got as far as his second dragon before his eyelids began to slide leadenly shut, and he was lulled into a deepening doze by the hushed sounds of sleepers breathing all around him. He was drawn into a dream of playing among star dragons who sung just for him, and knew no more 'til morning.

---

Section Eight: Anomalous Ability

To Pardus' immense amusement, the exercises to help him and the other cubs get used to their new bodies included yoga. It was hard not to find it funny, after learning that sticking one's rump in the air could be called a sun salutation. That provoked a lot of giggles, from many of the young ones. N, it was felt, was good at making exercises into games - or picking fun games that also counted as exercise. Most of these involved a ball of some sort, sometimes more than one - which was great, as far as the cubs were concerned. He also proved to be quite engaging as a history teacher, spinning them tales of both legends and more confirmed historical events. He always took the time to make it clear at the beginning which world's history and legends he was referring to, which helped, as he seemed to find their new world's myths and history just as engaging as they did. He hadn't gotten as far with that set as the other, though.

Albus, a rather relaxed fully-Meowth superclone, was responsible for their understanding of reading, writing, and arithmetic. He, like the cubs, had paws, which meant that he already had a non-standard approach to writing. Before moving on to holding pen or pencil, he made sure everyone could trace letters and numbers legibly with their fingers through sand. "<You never know when you'll need to leave someone a note when you've got no paper.>" He'd mewed by way of some explanation, when asked. While he wasn't quite as engaging a teacher as N, Albus was viewed by the cubs as an understanding sort, someone they could come to with their troubles. He was certainly patient enough to provide a willing ear, and work things through with them.

The irritable Pikatwo, who preferred to be called G.J. - apparently short for General Jolt - was their battle instructor. He was bent on teaching them to defend themselves using whatever techniques and/or equipment were available. He a devious little rodent, and with a streak of gleeful vindictiveness that was readily apparent when somemon destroyed a training dummy creatively. He was never cruel to them, in fact, he was often gruffly encouraging - eagerly encouraging when there was destruction going on - but he wasn't the sort to let them slack. He was delighted to discover the strange happenings around Pardus, such as the sudden gust of wind he'd managed to produce during one drill that could not be attributed to any technique used, and was unlikely to be part of a spontaneously-learned move. He'd been a little frustrated by the unpredictability of these events, particularly upon being turned blue for a day, but he'd set about trying to teach Pardus to harness this gift immediately. So far, it was slow going.

Grimalkin himself was teaching them science - particularly Pokemon biology, as he felt it important for the cubs to understand their own bodies. On one particular day, he was covering Pokemon Abilities, explaining their uses and heritage. He had brought along an invention of his designed to cause the Pokemon it was used on to display their Ability - intending to assign them a quiz afterwards (and update his paperwork). Things, for the most part, went roughly to plan, but there was a bit of a hiccup... Some of the cubs had been exposed to a lot of Pardus' mystery interference while developing - including Pardus himself - which had interacted with the Ditto-derived transformative features of the virus used to change them. This had the rather bizarre effect of creating a new Ability in those most affected: The Ability to access a form based on, but not identical to, their previous species and appearance.

This Ability, which the startled Grimalkin had decided to name Masquerade, had rendered Pardus a rather distressed human-seeming boy with pale hands and feet. The rest of his skin was a shade or two darker than it was before he became a changeling, the tips of his fingers a little more bulbous than normal, his nose a little smaller and flatter, his hair streaked with blond rather than purple, and his green eyes held a subtly feline cast. His ears, though rounded, were also a little more tilted back than they had been. For his part, Pardus wasn't happy until he'd figured out how to turn back - and only partly due to the fact that clothing wasn't part of the change. He'd gotten used to the creature he'd become, and grown to like it far better than his old human self. He was afraid that he'd have to lose everything he'd gained if he turned human, so he needed a lot of reassurance before he'd calm down.

It took multiple promises that he was still a Mewtwo, still wanted, and still different to how he'd arrived before he stopped panicking, and the gentle brushing of his daddy's concerned/caring/apologetic emotions against the surface of his mind before he calmed down. The fact that Usco had been affected as well, and received the same reception as always was also helpful. "W-what just happened?" Pardus asked, torn between incredulity and relief that he'd managed to regain his feline form. "It appears that a few of you have developed the Ability to conceal yourselves among your former kindred." Grimalkin responded carefully, making sure to keep up his reassuring broadcast. "This could be incredibly useful - the Ability to blend in could, if harnessed, help us to avoid being singled out." The big cat's tail was swaying slightly, and his mental voice was laced with a tension that could have been excitement.

Pardus' eyes widened a bit - by now, he knew that rare and powerful Pokemon were the most sought after, and that Mewtwo in particular had experienced some trouble of the sort. He felt a little guilty for making a fuss when it was put like that. "I did not expect you to experience such a shock, Pardus. I apologise." The Legend continued, seeming ever-so-slightly sheepish, but still clearly pleased with the discovery. If people cannot see what's different, perhaps they will look at what's the same? The experiment mused delightedly, if with a touch of guilt, already plotting ways of making this new Ability at least better understood - with a view to making it more... available. Perhaps if he modified some Ability Capsules? "Perhaps you would find your distress compensated for if I told you that tonight is movie night, and that your quizzes are not due until this time next week?" He smirked, eyes glittering. From the youthful cheering that followed, it was clear that the news was popular - that Pardus joined in, and seemed as enthused as the others, was encouraging.

Usco had managed to activate his Ability again, and was examining himself with interest. He looked the part, but the change was... imperfect, as compared to Ditto's signature. He had no claws at all, and his belly-to-tail colouration still shifted slowly into fudge-brown rather than the usual Meowth patterning. The brown of his eyes was also more obvious than in a standard Meowth, and he'd gained a slightly visible pale nose, but he couldn't see that without a reflective surface. Curiosity satisfied, he changed back. Like Pardus, he felt better knowing that his change had not come undone - he had simply become a more changeable changeling than before.

Movie night sounded good to Pardus, based on the glimpses and sounds of films he'd caught over his few years, but he had to wonder how Grimal- Oh, but there was N, wasn't there? He wouldn't look too strange picking up movies, even if he did have green hair. He had to laugh at the thought of N walking into a normal shop with that hair of his, particularly when he imagined people with that gobsmacked-but-too-polite-to-comment look he'd seen a few times before. He wondered idly what they'd be watching. In fact, some of the films they watched together that evening came from the Pokemon world, the general opinion of those making showing choices being that it would be a shame to ignore one world's movies in favour of the other.

Once the younglings had been coaxed out of the projector room and tucked in, Grimalkin went to tinker in his lab for a bit, and check on the little unborn ones. It was while he was doing this that he heard a tapping sound coming from somewhere. He looked around, but nothing was amiss. It grew more insistent, as though impatient, allowing him to track the odd clacking to a lab window. There was, amidst night's encroaching shroud, the figure of a corvid - either a raven or some sort of crow. Seeing it on Stormhaven was very surprising, as it was hardly a sea bird, as was its determination to get in. Not nearly so surprising, however, as the fact that this particular corvid appeared to be carrying an envelope. Curiosity piqued, Grimalkin opened the window and allowed it entrance.

---

I'll add a new chapter when I manage to write one - but don't think I've abandoned this story. In lieu of the usual content, I'll announce the results of my polls so far.
Firstly, Mew and Jessie/James/Meowth will definitely be making an appearance in Changeling Fate, while Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Ash Ketchum are a little less assured of screen time - but still prominent candidates.
Next, the presence of the new, feminine Mewtwo from the Genesect movie - because really, there's no way that's not a new one: Still a maybe, as that's the leading choice - and both yes and no options are tied.
If the new, feminine Mewtwo does make an appearance, the two most likely names are Zuya, meaning 'warrior woman', and Anuata, meaning 'shadow woman of the night'.
The two names that are currently runners-up are Shura, meaning 'protector', and Magena, meaning 'the coming moon, a covering protection'.
The poll regarding which types of Dumbledore I could use in my stories is still very new, but the options that have currently been voted for are 'ill-intentioned/manipulative' and 'senile'.

---

Section Nine: Complications

The corvid hopped in out of the crisp night air, fixing Grimalkin with a curiously haughty look for a bird faced with such a large feline, and extended the leg that the envelope was affixed to. Using telekinesis, so as not to ruffle the bird's feathers with his overlarge fingertips, the non-born Unseleighe retrieved his letter. The messenger bird stayed put while he grasped the curiously textured envelope - which he noticed was marked for 'The New Guardian of the Potter Heir' - and opened it. The contents were surprising, to say the least.

To whom it may concern, it read, in a spindly old-fashioned hand, it has come to our attention that you have performed a blood adoption of an addition-based type upon one of our underaged clients, and thus become responsible for his financial affairs. As he is the sole remaining heir to his line, and no heritage was erased, your act has merged his line with yours - whatever that might be. It has also come to our attention that the bloodline you have added to our client is both nonhuman and unidentified. A meeting is required to discuss the new responsibilities you have become subject to, and the ramifications of your alteration of the Potter heir. Gringotts recommends an isolated location from the list appended to this missive, and expects your prompt reply to indicate a date no later than one week from the receipt of this missive. You are not required to bring the Potter heir at this time. Anticipating your response, Gringotts Bank.

Grimalkin wasn't certain what he'd been expecting, but it hadn't been this. He'd been discovered... by bankers... who delivered mail by bird? Rather pushy, creepily well-informed bankers at that. He wondered how they were keeping track of Pardus - for the 'Potter heir' could hardly be anyone else, as he had only used his own DNA in one of the changelings. At least I know why the bird didn't leave. He mused, reaching for a pen and a piece of paper from the nearest work surface, intent on writing back. While he didn't appreciate the demanding tone the mysterious bank had set, he wanted more information.

Gringotts Bank, he wrote carefully, in a broad cursive script. I have indeed inducted a boy into my family - there was no indication that he was heir to any name, much less one connected to an intriguingly well-informed bank. I look forward to your illumination of the topic. For the purpose of record-keeping, I inform you that the child's name is now Pardus Cenue Unseleighe, whatever it might have been before. As you have gathered, mine is not a human family - our kind will answer to the name Unseleighe, or be alternately referred to as 'Dark Court'. My family line bears the same name due to being the founding line. I will meet you at the Scottish moor location, on the day the moon loses its light, at four in the afternoon. Intrigued by your apparent monitoring of my son, Grimalkin Unseleighe, ruler of Stormhaven.

The tone of his response was perhaps more pompous and stilted than he would have liked, but he was dealing with an unknown here - he wanted to make it clear that he was not without status, lest they think they could run rings around him. Besides, he was Stormhaven's ruler - he could probably call himself its king, actually. That didn't sound like a bad idea on the face of it, but he'd have to think it over. Only having one envelope to hand, he placed a white sticker over the existing writing and replaced that script with the word 'Gringotts'. He sealed the reply inside through use of a gluestick, then gently attached the missive to the inkdark avian in the same way as he had detached the one sent to him. As soon as it was affixed, the bird leapt out through the window without a sound, leaving Grimalkin to his thoughts.

It was unnerving, knowing that there was already someone who had enough intel to send him mail. He hoped that they would not become a nuisance. As he contemplated this, he wondered briefly how the bird had known where to find him, and whether he needed to move the 'island' - he decided to wait until he had more information before doing such a thing.

The appointed date and time saw the puissant Psychic perched on a vaguely log-shaped grey rock in a particularly foggy Scottish moorland, watching the approach of a band of small craggy bipeds with fierce eyes and lethal-looking teeth. When they drew close, he stepped lightly down to regard them. They seemed surprised and cautious, which he had expected, but also carried hints of a burgeoning inner glee. That was concerning, coming from strangers. "Are you Grimalkin Unseleighe?" The foremost banker asked querulously, peering up along his long nose.

"I am. You are?" He responded, startling them some more with his mode of communication. "We represent the Goblins of Gringotts Bank." Came the reply, accompanied by a proud sneer. Goblins? Grimalkin wondered, his mind readily absorbing this new information. "I see... You claim that my son is a notable client of yours, and held the name Potter? If this is so, why pray tell was he a starveling ignorant of any name of his own and innocent of any possession save the rags on his back?" He asked silkily, his tone soft and predatory. From the way the Goblins' eyes widened, it was plain that this was a shock to them. "If my son was someone's heir before I took him in, and one whom you apparently feel the need to remotely monitor in some way, such a state of affairs hardly reflects well. Come to think of it, what is the nature of your tracking of my son?"

When Grimalkin finished speaking, the bankers had a brief discussion - hushed and intense - in a language he didn't recognise. This seemed a bit rude, but the circumstances made it rather unsurprising. "Gringotts Bank denies any knowledge of the state the Potter heir was discovered in." One of the Goblins snapped tersely - he seemed to be worried about something, if Grimalkin was reading him right. "Absolutely nobody has been accessing the Potter vaults since the death of the heir's parents. It was assumed that his needs were being provided for by whatever guardians were appointed. Are we to take it that this was not the case?" Grimalkin nodded slightly, eyeing the other sentient with a mixture of suspicion and acknowledgement. "I gather that the type of monitoring you employ is limited in what it detects?" He deduced aloud, receiving a curt nod in response.

"We monitor the life or death status of our clients, and our method allows us to know if the heritage of an existing client is altered. We prefer immediate knowledge of developments in our customers that are likely to affect bank business. This does not extend to living situations." A second Goblin interjected gruffly. A third strode forward with a box of paperwork of some kind, stating that it outlined what his son had inherited from the Potters - and his new responsibilities regarding the management of this property. The collection of documentation was added to by another banker, who stated that his contribution was an accounting of the events surrounding the orphaning of the Potter heir - and the societal context. Clearly, they had no desire to explain everything themselves if they could help it, but at least they didn't seem to want him to be unprepared for this mess.

Transitions in the conversation seemed a little disjointed to Grimalkin, but perhaps it was a product of the language structure they were more used to. As far as he could tell, the Goblins were not interested in being 'friends' - they wanted to ensure their banking kept running smoothly. They seemed wary of starting a serious confrontation, but prepared to fight if one arose, and they were positively gleeful about his having turned Pardus into one of his own kind - particularly when they found out that he could resume a human guise at will.

It seemed that his son was a prominent figure in a magical and often mulish human society. It also appeared that the Goblins liked it when someone slipped things past the 'wizarding' radar and stirred up trouble. Well, Grimalkin had no problem with that, but he made it clear to the magical bankers that he would not tolerate any attempts to use himself or Pardus as unwitting catspaws. At least he now had an explanation for the odd surges the cub produced - it was magic. Come to think of it, that could possibly explain the Fairy type characteristic as well. It was clear that between these revelations and the newly-Unseleighe vaults and associated propery, he would have a lot to think about. In particular, learning more about the society that was apparently expecting his cub. His mind was whirring with bemused curiosity and concern all the way back to his artificial island. What was to become of all this?

---